West Monroe junior quarterback Jon Randall Belton has a torn ACL in the same knee he injured in 2013 and will miss the season after surgery on Wednesday.

Belton injured the knee early in Friday's scrimmage versus Parkway.

"We could tell something was different but thought the knee was a little fatigued," West Monroe coach Jerry Arledge said. "He told me later that he just wanted to keep playing because he knew that was it for the year."

Senior Dustin Mitchell will move from linebacker to quarterback this week. Mitchell started five games for the Rebels at quarterback in 2013 when Belton injured his knee.

"Mitchell is a senior and is now a year older being in our offense," Arledge said. "(Sophomore) Robert Foust will be the backup."

Moving Mitchell back to offense means a shuffle of linebacker duties for the team’s defense as well.

Layton Garnett is returning to the team soon after being held out because of an injury, and will likely pick up where he left off as one of the top tacklers on the team. The depth Garnett provides at linebacker, and the good news of his return will be a welcome addition to the Rebels, although it is unclear when Garnett will be back in the lineup as of now.

Despite the adversity the team now faces as they prepare for Friday’s jamboree at ULM against the Neville Tigers, Mitchell is prepared to lead the team.

“The coaches came to me, and said they believe in me as the quarterback and that they felt it was best for the team,” Mitchell said. “All I told them was ‘let’s do it’. Anything I can do to help the team win state I want to do. We are going to miss having Jon out there with us. I hate it for a great guy like him to have that happen again. But, I just want to do the best I can for the team. When I found out about (playing quarterback again) I was excited because I will be playing with a lot of friends on the offensive line, and I love having those guys up there to block for me.”

Mitchell started the final five games at quarterback after Belton went down with the first ACL injury at Ruston on Oct. 18.

Mitchell was 4-1 as a starter for the Rebels including a 20-17 win in the first round of the LHSAA Class 5A playoffs against Denham Springs. West Monroe was eliminated the following week when they lost to Central-Baton Rouge, 14-0.